10-second tactics
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
THE KO
Always good practice to test your tactical vision and combinative skills. Try these 2 examples from recent master practice. Solutions at the end. Good luck! Find the knock out blow!
GM PAUNOVIC
GM KOGAN
The first example comes from a game played in a tournament in Zaragoza, just 2 days ago. Both GMs are my friends and both very strong players. Black has just played 29…Qa3!?, threatening mate in 1 move. Does Kogan need to defend against this threat? What did he play that forced a win in just a couple of moves?
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Example number 2 comes from a tournament in St. Petersburg last month. Black has just played 31…Qb6, threatening a deadly discovered check. What move did White make that forced Black’s immediate resignation?
RJABZEV
NEVEROV
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Solutions:
Example 1: Kogan played 30. Qe6ch! Kh8 31.Rxh6ch!! pxR 32.g7ch! resigns. It is forced mate!
Example 2: Neverov played 32. Rg8ch!! forced mate